beoroe- Wa-shinciTon 
UniversiT\J 



Charter 




029 892 093 1 



PHOTOFELE ENVELOPES 

MADE FROM 

PERMALIFE^ PAPER 

COPYRITE HOWARD PAPER MILLS INC. 
MIN pH 7.5 



WI90O 



PROOF-SHEETS 
Not a University Publication 

ACTS OF CONGRESS, ACT OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND CERTIFICATE OF CHANGE OF 

NAME OF THE COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY 

TOGETHER FORMING ON MAY 1. 1909 

THE CHARTER 

OF 

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 



DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
FEBRUARY, 1910 



rnitmnmmmi^^' 



L.13RARV 

JUN 23 1911 



^ Traimfer 



t^ 



LJJ/900 
I 9/^ 



THE CHARTER 

OF 

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

An Act to incorporate the Columbian College in the District of 

Columbia. 

Be it enacted, See., That there be erected, and hereby is 
erected and estabHshed, in the District of Columbia, a Col- 
lege, for the sole and exclusive purpose of educating youth 
in the English, learned, and foreign languages, the liberal 
arts, sciences, and literature ; the style and title of which shall 
be, and hereby is declared to be, "The Columbian College in 
the District of Columbia." 

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That the said College 
shall be under the management, direction, and government 
of a number of Trustees, not exceeding thirty-one, to be 
elected triennially, by the contributors to the said College, 
qualified to vote, in such manner, and under such limitations 
and restrictions, as may be provided by the ordinances of 
the College, on the first Monday in May ; and that the first 
Trustees of the said College shall consist of the following 
persons, viz: Obadiah B. Brown, Luther Rice, Enoch Rey- 
nolds, Josiah Meigs, Spencer H. Cone, Daniel Brown, Return 
J, Meigs, Joseph Gibson, Joseph Cone, Thomas Corcoran, 
Bur^s Allison, Thomas Sewall, and Joseph Thaw: which 
said Trustees, and their successors, shall forever hereafter be, 
and they are hereby declared to be, one body politic and cor- 
porate, with perpetual succession, in deed and in law, to all 
intents and purposes whatsoever, by the name, style and title 
of "The Columbian College in the District of Columbia;" 
by which name and title, they, the said Trustees, and their 
successors, shall be competent and capable, at law and in 
equity, to take to themselves and their successors, for the use 

(3) 



4 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

of the said College, any estate, in any messuage, lands, tene- 
ments, hereditaments, goods, chattels, moneys, and other 
effects, by gift, grant, bargain, sale, conveyance, assurance, 
will, devise, or bequest, of any person or persons whatsoever : 
Provided, The same do not exceed, in the whole, the yearly 
value of twenty-five thousand dollars; and the same mes- 
suages, lands, tenements, hereditaments, and estate, real and 
personal, to grant, bargain, sell, convey, assure, demise, and 
to farm let, and place out on interest, for the use of the said 
College, in such manner as to them, or at least nine of them, 
shall seem most beneficial to the institution, and to receive 
the rents, issues, and profits, income and interest, of the same, 
and to apply the same to the proper use and benefit of the 
said College: and by the same name to sue, commence, 
prosecute, and defend, implead and be impleaded, in any 
courts of law and equity, and in all manner of suits and 
actions whatsoever, and generally, by and in the same name, 
to do and transact all and every the business touching or con- 
cerning the premises. 

Sec, 3. And he it jwrther enacted, That the said Trustees 
shall cause to be made for their use one common seal, with 
such devices and inscriptions thereon as they shall think 
proper, under and by which all deeds, diplomas, certificates, 
and acts of the said College, shall pass and be authenticated ; 
and the same seal, at their pleasure, to break and devise a 
new one. ' 

Sec. 4. And he it jwrther enacted, That the said Trustees, 
or five of them at least, shall' meet at the College, on College 
Hill, in the said District of Columbia, on the first Monday in 
March next, for the purpose of concerting and agreeing to 
such business as, in consequence of this Act, shall be proper 
to be laid before them at the commencement of the work they 
have undertaken, and shall have power to adjourn from time 
to time, as they shall see cause, to any other times or places, 
for the purpose of perfecting the same. That there shall be 
a stated meeting of the said Trustees held twice in every year 



By TrBJisfer 



CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

at least, at such place and time as the said Trustees, or a 
quorum thereof, shall appoint, of which public notice shall 
be given, after the first meeting, at least twenty days before 
[the] time of such intended meeting, whenever the Presi- 
dent, to be appointed by them, shall deem the business of the 
institution to require the same, and give due notice thereof, 
which he is hereby authorized to do; and if, at such stated 
or occasional meetings, five of the said Trustees shall not be 
present, those of them who shall be present shall have 
power to adjourn the meeting to any other day, as fully and 
eflfectually, to all intents and purposes, as if the whole num- 
ber of Trustees for the time being were present; but, if five 
or more of the said Trustees shall meet at the said appointed 
times, or at any other time of adjournment, then such five 
of the said Trustees shall be a board or quorum, and a 
majority of the votes of them shall be capable of doing and 
transacting all the business and concerns of the said College 
not otherwise provided for by this Act; and particularly oi' 
making and enacting ordinances for the government of the 
said College; of electing and appointing the President, Pro- 
fessors, and Tutors, for the said College; of agreeing w^ith 
them for their salaries and stipends, and removing them for 
misconduct, or breach of the laws of the institution ; of ap- 
pointing committees of their own body to carry into execu- 
tion all and every the resolutions of the Board; of appoint- 
ing a President, Treasurer, Secretary, stcAvards, managers, 
and other necessary and customary officers, for taking care 
of the estate and managing the concerns of the corporation ; 
and, generally, a majority of voices of the board, or quorum 
of the said Trustees, consisting of five persons at least, at 
any semi-annual, occasional, or adjourned meeting, after 
notice given as aforesaid, shall determine all matters and 
things (although the same be not herein particularly men- 
tioned) which shall occasionally arise, and be incidentally 
necessary to be determined and transacted by the said Trus- 
tees: Provided always. That no ordinances shall be of force 



6 CHARTER OP THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

which shall be repugnant to this charter, or to the laws of 
the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 5. And be it fwrther enacted, That the Head or Chief 
Master for the said College shall be called and styled ''The 
President/' and the Masters thereof shall be called "Pro- 
fessors and Tutors;" but neither President, Professors, or 
Tutors, while they remain such, shall ever be capable of the 
office of Trustee. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the President. 
Professors, and Tutors, or a majority of them, shall be called 
and styled "The Faculty of the College," which Faculty 
shall have the power of enforcing the rules and regulations 
adopted by the Trustees for the government of the pupil^, 
by rewarding or censuring them, and, finally, by suspending 
,' such of them as after repeated admonitions shall continue 
disobedient and refractory, until a determination of a quo- 
rum of the Trustees can be had; and of granting and con- 
firming, by and with the approbation and consent of a 
board of the Trustees, signified by their mandamus, such 
degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, to such pupils of the 
institution, or others, who, by their proficiency in learning, 
or other meritorious distinction, they shall think entitled 
to them, as are usually granted and conferred in colleges; 
and to grant, to such graduates, diplomas or certificate.^, 
under their common seal, and signed by the Faculty, to 
authenticate and perpetuate the memory of such graduation. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That persons of every 
religious denomination shall be capable of being elected 
Trustees ; nor shall any person, either as President, Professor, 
Tutor, or pupil, be refused admittance into said College, or 

I denied any of the privileges, immunities, or advantages 
thereof, for or on account of his sentiments in matters of 
religion. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That no misnomer of 
the said corporation shall defeat or annul any gift, gi-ant, 
devise, or bequest, to or from the sdid corporation : Provided, 



CHARTER OP THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 7 

The intent of the parties shall sufficiently appear upon 
the face of the gift, grant, will, or other writing, whereby 
any estate or interest was intended to pass to or from the 
said corporation. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the constitution 
of the said College, herein and hereby declared and estab- 
lished, shall be, and remain, the inviolate constitution of the 
said College forever; and the same shall not be altered, or 
alterable, by any ordinance or law of the said Trustees: 
Provided, That it may be lawful for the Congress of the 
United States to revoke and repeal this Act, at any and at 
all times whenever they shall think fit so to do. 

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the 
duty of the said Board of Trustees to keep a regular book or 
journal, in which shall be entered, under their direction, 
besides an account of all their ordinary acts and proceedings, 
all the by-laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations, which 
may be adopted by the said Board, for their own government, 
and for the government of the institution ; also, a schedule 
of all the property and effects, real, personal, or mixed, which 
shall or may be vested in the said Trustees, for the use of the 
said College, by virtue of any gift, grant, bargain, sale, will, 
or otherwise, together with annual statements concerning the 
accounts and finances of the institution. That it shall, 
moreover, be the duty of the said Trustees, to cause to be 
enrolled, in the said book or journal, the names of all the 
contributors to the institution qualified to vote for Trustees, 
with their respective places of residence; and the said book 
or journal shall, at all times be open to the inspection or ex- 
amination of the Attorney General of the United States; 
and, when required by either House of Congress, it shall 
be the duty of said Trustees to furnish information re- 
specting their own conduct, the state of the institution, and 
of its finances, which shall or may be so required. 

Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That in case any 
vacancy or vacancies shall happen in the Board of Trustees 



8 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

aforesaid, by death, inability, resignation, or otherwise, at 
any time between the stated or triennial elections, that then 
it shall and may be lawful for the other Trustees, or any five 
of them, to proceed, at any subsequent meeting after the 
happening of such vacancy or vacancies, to choose, by 
ballot, any suitable person or persons to fill the same. 

Sec. 12. Aiid be it further enacted. That the employment 
or application of the funds or income of the said corporation, 
or an}' part thereof, for any purpose or object other than 
those expressed and defined in the first section of this Act, 
or the investment thereof in any other mode than is de- 
scribed and provided in the second section thereof, shall be 
deemed and taken to be a forfeiture of all the rights and 
immunities derived from this Act, and the same shall, thence- 
forth, cease and become null and void. 

Approved, February 9, 1821. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 6, pp. 255-258; 
16th Cong., 2d Sess., Ch. 10.) 



An Act granting certain City Lots to the corporation of ttie 
Columbian College for the purposes therein mentioned. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That 
there shall be, and hereby are, granted to the Columbian 
College, in the District of Columbia, lots in the City of 
Washington, to the amount, in value, of twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars ; which said lots shall be selected and valued by 
the Commissioner of the Public Buildings, when requested 
by the Trustees of the said College; and when the said lots 
shall be so selected and valued, the same shall be vested in 
the said corporation, in fee simple; to be by them held and 
disposed of in the manner following, that is to say : the said 
corporation, by proper and lawful act or acts, under their 
corporate seal, shall sell and dispose of the said lots, as soon 
as reasonably practicable, for the best price or prices they can 



CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 9 

obtain; and shall vest the proceeds of the same in some 
public stock, or in stock of some incorporated bank. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, when the lots 
aforesaid shall be selected and valued as aforesaid, the said 
Commissioner shall make return of the numbers and descrip- 
tion thereof to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of the County 
of Washington; to be by him recorded among the records 
of land titles in the said County. 

Sec. 3. And be it further 'enacted. That the proceeds of 
the sales aforesaid, so to be vested, shall not be otherwise 
used by the said Trustees than as a capital, to be by them 
forever hereafter kept vested as aforesaid ; and the dividends 
or interest therefrom accruing, shall, by them, be used and 
applied in aid of the other revenues of the said College, to 
the establishment and endowment of such professorships 
therein as now are, or hereafter shall be, established by the 
said Trustees ; and to and for no other purpose whatever. 

Approved, July 14, 1832. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 4, pp. 603-604; 
22nd Cong., 1st Sess., Ch. 248.) 



An Act supplemental to the <'Act granting certain City Lots to 
the corporation of the Columbian College for the purposes 
therein mentioned," approved the fourteenth day of July, 
eighteen hundred and thirty^two. 

Be it enacted, &c., That the corporation of the Columbian 
College be, and hereby is, authorized to sell so many of the 
city lots, granted to said corporation by the Act to which this 
is supplemental, as shall be sufficient to raise the sum of 
seven thousand dollars, and to apply the proceeds of such 
sale to the payment of debts due from said corporation, any- 
thing in the Act to which this is supplemental to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

Approved, February 28, 1839. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 6, p. 751 ; 25th 
Cong., 3rd Sess., Ch. 34.) 



10 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

An Act for the relief of the Columbian College, in the District 
of Columbia. 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Distinct 
of Columbia/ That the Columbian College, in the District of 

^ The Legislative Assembly of the District of Columbia had its exist- 
ence under the provisions of "An Act to Provide a Government for 
the District of Columbia," approved February 21, 1871 (United States 
Statutes at Large, vol. 16, pp. 419-429; 41st Cong., 3rd Sess., Ch. 62). 

This Act read, in part, as follows : 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That all that part 
of the territory of the United States included within the limits of the 
District of Columbia be, and tlie same is hereby, created into a Gov- 
ernment by the name of the District of Columbia, by which name it 
is hereby constituted a body corporate for municipal purposes, and 
may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be 
impleaded, have a seal, and exercise all other powers of a municipal 
corporation not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the 
United States and the provisions of this Act. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power and au- 
thority in and over the District of Columbia shall be vested in a 
Governor, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall hold his office for 
four years and until his successor shall be appointed and quali- 
fied. * * * 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That every bill which shall have 
passed the Council and House of Delegates shall, before it becomes a 
law, be presented to the Governor of the District of Columbia ; if he 
approve, he shall sign it. * * * 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That legislative power and au- 
thority in said District shall be vested in a Legislative Assembly, as 
hereinafter provided. The Assembly shall consist of a Council and 
House of Delegates. * * * 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That all male citizens of the 
United States above the age of twenty -one years, who shall have been 
actual residents of the District for three months prior to the passage 
of this Act, except such as are non compos mentis and persons con- 
victed of infamous crimes, shall be entitled to vote at said election, 
in the election district or precinct in which he shall then reside and 
shall have so resided for thirty daj^s immediately preceding said elec- 
tion, .and shall be eligible to any office within the said District, and 
for all subsequent elections twelve months' prior residence shall be 
required to constitute a voter ; but the Legislative Assembly shall 
have no right to abridge or limit the right of suffrage. * * * 

Sec 18. And be it further enacted. That the legislative power of the 
District shall extend to all rightful subjects of legislation within the 
District, consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the 
provisions of this Act, subject, nevertheless, to all the restrictions 
and limitations imposed upon States by the tenth section of the first 
article of the Constitution of the United States ; but all Acts of the 
Legislative Assembly shall at all times be subject to repeal or modi- 



CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 11 

Columbia, chartered by and organized and acting under the 
Act of Congress approved Februaiy nine, eighteen hundred 
and twenty-one, may, from the proceeds of any sale of its 
property, apply such sum as may be needful to pay its pres- 
ent indebtedness and place its libraries, buildings, and appa- 
ratus of instruction in good condition, and execute all deeds 
needful to quiet the title of property already sold. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Trustees of 
said College elected in May last shall constitute the corpora- 
tion of said College until their successors in office shall be 
chosen and qualified as hereinafter provided, and may, 
until then, as vacancies occur in their number, temporarily 

fication by the Congress of the United States, and nothing herein 
shall be construed to deprive Congress of the power of legislation 
over said District in as ample manner as if this law had not been 
enacted. * * * 

Sec. 28. And he it further enacted, That the said Legislative Assem- 
bly shall have power to create by general law, modify, repeal, or 
amend, within said District, corporations aggregate for religious, char- 
itable, educational, industrial, or commercial purposes, and to define 
their powers and liabilities : Provided, That the powers of corpora- 
tions so created shall be limited to the District of Columbia. * * * 

Sec. 34. And 6e it further enacted. That a Delegate to the House of 
Representatives of the United States, to serve for the term of two 
years, who shall be a citizen of the United States and of the District 
of Columbia, and shall have the qualifications of a voter, may be 
elected by the voters qualified to elect members of the Legislative 
Assembly, who shall be entitled to the same rights and privileges as 
are exercised and enjoyed by the Delegates from the several Terri- 
tories of the United States to the House of Representatives, and shall 
also be a member of the Committee for the District of Columbia. 

The form of government by a Governor and Legislative Assembly, 
with a Delegate in Congress, was abolished by "An Act for the Gov- 
ernment of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," ap- 
proved June 20, 1874 (United States Statutes at Large, vol. 18, pp. 
116-121; 43rd Cong., 1st Sess., Ch. 337). By this last Act, a form of 
government by a Commission, consisting of three persons appointed 
by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, was instituted ; and this form of government 
was continued, with some changes, by "An Act providing a Permanent 
Form of Government for the District of Columbia," approved June 11, 
1878 (United States Statutes at Large, vol. 20, pp. 102-108; 45th 
Cong., 2nd Sess., Ch, 180), which is the Organic Act of the District, 



12 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

fill them by the election of fit persons residing in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That the said Trustees 
shall meet in the Law Building of said College at noon, on 
the twenty-fifth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy- 
two, for the purpose of choosing, and shall then and there, 
or at the time and place to which said meeting may be 
adjourned, elect thirteen Trustees and thirteen Overseers, 
who shall, upon their election, constitute the College cor- 
poration, and they and their successors shall thenceforward 
be, and be known and recognized as, the Columbian College 
in the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 4. And be it furtJier enacted,, That the Trustees 
chosen at the said meeting in June, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-two, or who may thereafter be chosen, shall be resi- 
dents of the District of Columbia, and that at said meeting, 
and at any annual meeting of Trustees and Overseers to ba 
thereafter held in said City of Washington on the Tuesday 
next preceding the last Wednesday in June, annually, the 
Trustees and Overseers in convention assembled shall fill 
vacancies in their Board, and shall, by ballot, elect from 
among the Trustees two suitable persons, one to be President 
and the other to be Treasurer and Secretary of said corpora- 
tion and of the Board of Trustees, and shall establish ordi- 
nances and by-laws, or alter or repeal the same; and also 
frame laws and regulations for the College Faculty and stu- 
dents in all the departments thereof, and by ballot elect 
such teachers, tutors, professors, lecturers, and President, and 
with such salaries and duties as said corporation may deem 
proper. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That at said annual 
meetings not less than seven Trustees and three Overseers 
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business 
except adjournment, and adjournment may be made by any 
number present; Provided, That a final adjournment shall 



CHAKTEK OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 13 

not be delayed beyond one week after the time fixed for the 
annua] meeting. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That during the inter- 
val between said annual meetings the Trustees shall, as now, 
hold semi-annual, quarterly, monthly, and occasional meet- 
ings to fill temporarily, as the case may require, vacancies 
in the Faculty or in their own Board, and with all their 
present powers as modified by this Act, subject to the ordi- 
nances and by-laws of the corporation ; but no real estate or 
other property of said corporation shall, after the twenty- 
fifth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, be dis- 
posed of by the Trustees, except by vote of the corporation 
or in pursuance of its ordinances. 

Approved, July 25, 1871. 

(Laws of the District of Columbia, 1871-1872, part 2, 
pp. 21, 22. Acts of the First Legislative Assembly 
of the District of Columbia, 1st Sess., Ch. 18.) 



An Act supplemental to the Act of February ninth, eighteen 
hundred and twenty=one, Incorporating the Columbiafn] College, 
in the District of Columbia. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
the act to incorporate the Columbia [n] College in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, approved February ninth, eighteen hun- 
dred and tw^enty-one, be, and the same is hereby, so modified 
that said corporation shall be hereafter known and called by 
the name of the Columbia[n] University, and in that name 
shall take, hold and manage all the estate and property now 
belonging to said College, or that may hereafter be conveyed, 
devised, or bequeathed to said corporation by its original 
name ; that the restriction of the yearly value of the property 
of the said corporation to the sum of twenty-five thousand 
dollars be, and the said restriction is hereby, repealed; and 
that said corporation may increase the number of its Over- 



14 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

seers to tweaty-one, and the number of its Trustees to twenty- 
one, exclusive of the President of the Faculty, who shall be, 
ex officio, a Trustee of said corporation. 

Sec. 2. That the Act for the ReHef of the Columbian Col- 
lege in the District of Columbia enacted by the Legislative 
Assembly of said District, and approved July twenty-fifth, 
eighteen hundred and seventy-one, be, and the same is 
hereby, approved and confirmed: Provided, That this Act 
nor the said Act of the Legislative Assembly of the said Dis- 
trict, shall be so construed as to authorize the said Columbian 
University to sell, or use the proceeds of any sale of land 
granted by Congress to said institution for any purpose other 
than that expressed in the Act of Incorporation and the Act 
granting any such land or real estate, or contrary to any will, 
devise or grant of any land or real estate heretofore or here- 
after made, by any person or persons to said institution. 

Approved, March 3, 1873. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 17, p. 629 ; 42nd 
Cong., 3rd Sess., Ch. 328.)^ 



An Act supplementary to the Act of March third, eighteen hun = 
dred and seventy=three, entitled "An Act supplemental to the 
Act of February ninth, eighteen hundred and twenty="One, in- 
corporating Columbia[n] College, District of Columbia. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
the Act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, 
ratifying and confirming the Act for the Relief of Columbian 
College in the District of Columbia, enacted by the Legisla- 
tive Assembly of the said District, and approved July twenty- 
fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, be so modified as to 
authorize the Trustees and Overseers of the Columbian Uni- 
versity to hold their annual meeting on such day in May or 
June as the said Trustees and Overseers shall appoint, instead 



CHARTER OP THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 15 

of being held on "the Tuesday next preceding the last Wed- 
nesday in June." 

Approved, May 31, 1878. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 20, p. 88; 45th 
Cong., 2nd Sess., Ch. 147.) 



An act to amend the Act of March third, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-three, for the Relief of the Columbian University, in 
the District of Columbia. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled^ That 
the Act approved March third, eighteen hundred and 
seventy-three, entitled ''An Act supplemental to the Act of 
February ninth, eighteen hundred and twenty-one, incorpo- 
rating the Columbian College, in the District of Columbia" 
be, and the same is, so modified that hereafter the Treasurer 
and Secretary of said corporation, the Columbian University, 
need not be one person nor a member of the Trustees of said 
corporation, but the Trustees and Overseers of said corpora- 
tion, in convention assembled, shall annually elect by ballot 
two suitable persons from among the Trustees or not, as they 
may deem proper, one to be Treasurer and the other Secre- 
tary of said corporation, and of the Board of Trustees. 

Sec. 2. That in case of the death, resignation, or inability 
to act of either the Treasurer or Secretary^ the Board of 
Trustees shall have power to fill the vacancy until his suc- 
cessor is duly elected. 

Approved, January 14, 1893. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 27, p. 420; 52nd 
Cong.,, 2nd Sess., Ch. 38.) 



16 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

An Act supplemental to the Act of February ninth, eighteen hun- 
dred and twenty^one, incorporating the Columbian College in 
the District of Columbia, and the Acts amendatory thereof. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assemhled, That 
the Columbian University, on and after the first day of June, 
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, shall be under the man- 
agement and control of a Board of Trustees, consisting of 
twenty-two members; the President of the University shall 
be ex officio a member of said Board, and the remaining 
twenty-one shall be divided into three classes with seven 
members in each class; a majority of said Board shall be resi- 
dents of the District of Columbia, and seven members shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. That 
on or before the thirty-first day of May, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight, a meeting of the Trustees and Overseers of 
said University shall be held, and said meeting shall elect 
twenty-one Trustees, seven of whom shall be designated to 
serve from the first day of June, eighteen hundred and 
ninety-eight, until the annual meeting in eighteen hundred 
and ninety-nine ; and seven from the same date until the an- 
nual meeting in nineteen hundred; and seven until the an- 
nual meeting in nineteen hundred and one. Two-thirds of said 
Trustees, and also the President of the University, shall be 
members of regular Baptist churches ; that is to say, members 
of churches of that denomination of Protestant Christians 
now usually known and recognized under the name of the 
regular Baptist denomination; said Trustees so elected shall 
serve for the periods mentioned and until their successors 
are elected. That on the first day of June, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-eight, the terms of office of the present Trustees 
and Overseers shall cease and determine, and thereupon the 
control and management of said University, its property and 
trusts, shall vest in the Board of Trustees elected as herein- 
above provided and their successors. 

Sec. 2. That at the annual meeting in eighteen hundred 
and ninety-nine, and annually thereafter, there shall be 



CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 17 

elected by the Board of Trustees seven Trustees to fill the 
places of the class whose terms of office expire ; and the Board 
of Trustees may prescribe in a by-law the mode of nominat- 
ing persons for election as Trustees. A failure to elect Trus- 
tees at the annual meeting shall not create vacancies in the 
Board, but such election may be had and vacancies occurring 
during the year may be filled for the unexpired term by the 
Board at any general or special meeting. 

Sec. 3. That the Board of Trustees provided for herein shall 
have, and they are hereby given, full power and authority to 
appoint and remove any and all officers, professors, lecturers, 
teachers, tutors, agents, and employees who are now or may 
hereafter be elected or appointed ; they may, by a vote of two- 
thirds of all the Trustees constituting said Board, adopt and 
change by-laws for the conduct of the business and educa- 
tional work of said University; they may appoint an Execu- 
tive Committee composed of Trustees, designate the number 
and Chairman thereof, with such powers and authority as 
are usually exercised by an Executive Committee, and Avhich 
shall be conferred by the Board, subject always to the control 
of the Board of Trustees; they may create and establish 
schools and departments of learning to be connected with 
and become a part of said University; they may receive, in- 
vest, and administer endowments and gifts of money and 
property for the maintenance of educational work by said 
University, and by any department and chair thereof now es- 
tablished or which may hereafter be created or established by 
said University; and they shall have all the powers and au- 
thority heretofore granted to and vested in the Trustees and 
Overseers of said University. 

Sec. 4. That the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees 
shall be held in the City of Washingt.on, District of Colum- 
bia, on the Wednesday nearest the first day of June in each 
year; two other stated meetings shall be held on the second 
Wednesday of October and January in each year, and special 
meetings may be called by the President of the University 



18 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

or by the Executive Committee or by seven members of the 
Board of Trustees upon such notice and at such hour and 
place as may be designated in the by-laws; at all meetings 
any business necessary to be transacted may be consi<iered 
and acted upon, and any meeting may be adjourned from 
time to time by the Trustees present, whether constituting a 
quorum or not, notice of such adjournment to be given, as of 
called meetings, to those Trustees not present. 

Sec. 5. That the terms of office of the President of the 
University, the Treasurer and other officers, professors, and 
lecturers, and the employment of agents and employees, and 
the title to all the property and rights in and management of 
the endowment funds of the University shall not be affected 
by the change of management herein provided for, but they 
shall continue and be subject to the control and management 
of the Board of Trustees hereby created the same as they are 
now subject to the control and management of the corpora- 
tion. 

Sec. 6. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed. 

Approved, March 18, 1898. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 30, pp. 328, 329 ; 
55th Cong., 2nd Sess., Ch. 72.) 



An Act supplemental to the Act of February ninth, eighteen hun= 
dred and twenty-one, incorporating the Columbian College in 
the District of Columbia, and the Acts amendatory thereof. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That 
the Act to incorporate the Columbian College, in the District 
of Columbia, approved February ninth, eighteen hundred 
and twenty-one, and the amendatory Act approved March 
eighteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, be, and the 
same are hereby, amended by repealing and striking out of 
the said charter the following words in lines twenty to 



CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHllSGTON UNIVERSITY 19 

twenty-five in section one of the said amendatory Act of 
March eigliteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight; 
namely, "Two-thirds of said Trustees, and also the President 
of the University, shall be members of regular Baptist 
churches ; that is to say, members of churches of that denomi- 
nation of Protestant Christians now usually known and recog- 
nized under the name of the regular Baptist denomination." 

Sec. 2. That section thirteen of the original charter of 
February ninth, eighteen hundred and twenty-one, which 
provides "That persons of every religious denomination shall 
be capable of being elected Trustees; nor shall any person, 
either as President, Professor, Tutor or pupil, be refused ad- 
mittance into said College, or denied any of the privileges, 
immunities, or advantages thereof, for or on account of his 
sentiments in matters of religion," be, and the same is 
hereby, re-enacted and shall be hereafter in full force as a 
part of said charter. 

Sec. 3. That power is hereby given to the Board of Trus- 
tees of said University to change the name of said University 
at any regular meeting by a vote of not less than two-thirds 
of the total number of members of the Board, as prescribed 
by the charter, subject to the approval of the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Commissioner of Education. That upon 
said action being taken a certificate, under the seal of the 
University, stating the name adopted and the date when the 
name shall go into effect not less than thirty days nor more 
than six months from the date of its adoption, together with 
the fact that said name has been adopted as herein pre- 
scribed, shall be filed in the ofhce of the Recorder of Deeds of 
the District of Columbia, and thereupon, upon the date speci- 
fied for the name to go into effect, the University shall be 
known and designated by the name adopted, and by said new 
name the said University shall be vested with and convey its 
real estate, hold, control, and administer endowments and 
gifts of money and property heretofore and hereafter made 
for the maintenance of its educational work and do and per- 



20 CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

form all acts which it now has the power to do under its said 
charter. Such change of name shall not in any other way 
change, affect, or modify in any degree the rights, privileges, 
obligations, and powers of the said ' University under the 
charter of February ninth, eighteen hundred and twenty-one, 
and the amendatory Acts thereto. 

Sec. 4. That all Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent with 
this Act are hereby repealed. 

Approved, January 23, 1904. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 33, part 1, pp. 7, 
8; 58th Cong., 2nd Sess., ch. 7.) 



Certificate of Change of Name of the Columbian University to 
"The George Washington University." 

District of Columbia, 

City of Washington: 

The Columbian University, in accordance with the Act 
of Congress approved January 23, 1904, does hereby certify 
that, at the regular meeting of its Board of Trustees duly 
held on the eighth day of June, 1904, at which meeting there 
were present more than two-thirds of the total number of 
members of the Board, it was unanimously resolved that, 
subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Commissioner of Education, prescribed by said Act of 
Congress, the name of this University be changed to that of 
The George Washington University, the same to go into 
effect on the first day of September, A. D. 1904. 

And it is hereby further certified, that on the twentieth 
day of June, A. D. 1904, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Commissioner of Education- duly approved in writing said 
change of name, which said written approval is hereto at- 
tached and made a part hereof. 

In testimony whereof, said Columbian University has 
given this its certificate under its corporate seal, at the City of 



CHARTEi?. OP THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 'Zi 

Washington, D. C, on the twenty-first day of June, A. D. 
1904. 

Charles W. Needham, 

President. 
Attest: 

John B. Larner, 

Secretary. 

(Corporate Seal.) 

United States of America, 
Department of the Interior, 
Washington, D. C, June 20, 1904. 

Pursuant to Section 882 of the Revised Statutes, I hereby 
certify that the annexed paper is a true copy of the original 
as it appears upon the files of the Department. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my 
name, and caused the seal of the Department of the Interior 
to be affixed, the day and year first above written, 

E. A. Hitchcock, 
Secretary of the Interior. 

W. B. A. !■ 

(Seal of the Department of the Interior.) 

Whereas by Act of Congress approved January 23, 1904, 
the Columbian University was authorized to change its name, 
subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Commissioner of Education ; 

And whereas it has been made satisfactorily to appear to 
us that, at the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of 
said University held on the eighth day of June, A. D. 1904, 
at which meeting there were present more than two-thirds 
of the total number of members of said Board, it was unani- 
mously resolved to change the name of said University to that 
of The George Washington University, the same to go 
into effect on the first day of September, A. D. 1904; 



22 CHARTER OP THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

Now, therefore, this is to witness that, pursuant to said 
Act of Congress, we do hereby, this twentieth day of June, 
A. D. 1904, approve said change of name. 

E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary of the Interior. 
W. T. Harris, 
Commissioner of Education. 

(Seal of the Department of the Interior.) 

Office of the Recorder of Deeds, 

District of Columbia. 

This is to certify that the foregoing is a true and verified 
copy of the Certificate of Change of Name of the Columbian 
University to The George Washington University, and of the 
whole of said Certificate of Change of Name, as filed in this 
office the 22d day of June, 1904, and recorded in Liber No. 
16, folio 95, et seq., one of the Incorporation Records of the 
District of Columbia. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and 
affixed the seal of this office this 11th day of February, A. D. 
1910. 

R. W. Dutton, 
Deputy Recorder of Deeds, D. C. 

[Seal of the Recorder of Deeds, District of Columbia.] 



An Act supplemental to the Act of February ninth, eighteen hun- 
dred and twenty^one, incorporating the Columbian College in 
the District of Columbia, and the Acts amendatory thereof. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
the George Washington University shall have, and is hereby 
given, power to increase the number of its Trustees from 
time to time, by a two-thirds vote of the whole number 
of the Trustees at the time such vote is taken, to a number 



CHARTER OF THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 23 

not exceeding forty-five. In case of the increase of the num- 
ber of Trustees a certificate, stating the number of the Board 
and the time when it shall go into effect and that the action 
so taken was by a two-thirds vote as required by this Act, 
shall be filed with the Recorder of Deeds of the District of 
Columbia, and upon and after the date named the Board 
shall consist of the number of Trustees stated in such certifi- 
cate, and said Board may also appoint a Board or Boards of 
Visitors for any department or departments of educational 
work carried on by the University, such Boards of Visitors to 
be advisory only. 

Sec. 2. That by and with the consent of said University, 
Colleges may be organized hereunder for the purpose of car- 
rying on, in connection with the University, special lines 
of educational work in the arts, sciences, and liberal and tech- 
nical knowledge, such Colleges to be educationally a part of 
the system of the University, but upon independent financial 
foundations, and to this end any five or more persons desirous 
of associating themselves for the purpose of establishing a 
College hereunder, may make, sign, and acknowledge before 
any officer authorized to take acknowledgment of deeds in the 
District of Columbia, and with the assent of the University 
in writing, file in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of the 
said District a certificate in writing, in which shall be stated : 
First, the intention to organize a corporation under this Act 
and the assent of the University thereto ; second, the name or 
title by which the College shall be known in law ; third, the 
names of the Ti-ustees constituting the first Board, and such 
Trustees may be divided into three classes, th^ term of office 
of one class expiring annually; fourth, the manner of nomi- 
nating and electing successors to said Trustees; fifth, the 
branch or branches of literature, arts, science, liberal or tech- 
nical knowledge proposed to be taught; sixth, that the highest 
officer of said College shall be a Dean, the Dean and mem- 
bers of the Faculty to be members of the Educational Coun- 



24 CHARTER OP THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 

cils of the University in accordance with the rules governing 
the University ; seventh, that all degrees shall be bestowed by 
the University; eighth, that in all financial and legal respon- 
sibility the College shall be an independent organization. 
Upon filing such certificate the Trustees named therein and 
their successors shall be a body politic, incorporated by the 
name and style stated in the certificate, and by that name and 
style shall have perpetual succession in association with the 
University, with power in the College to sue and be sued; 
plead and be impleaded; to acquire, hold, arid convey prop- 
erty in all legal ways ; to receive by gift, devise, or otherwise, 
and hold, control, and administer endowments and gifts of 
money and property thereafter made to it for the mainte- 
nance of its educational work; to have and use a common 
seal, and to alter and change the same at pleasure ; to make 
and alter from time to time such by-laws, not inconsistent 
^^'ith the Constitution of the United States or the laws in force 
in said District or the laws of the University regulating the 
conduct of educational work, as may be deemed necessary 
for the government of the College, but said College shall not 
confer academic or honorary degrees ; such College shall hold 
the property of the institution and all moneys and property 
conveyed to it by purchase, gift, conveyance, will, devise, or 
bequest solely for the purposes of the educational work speci- 
fied in said certificate; the Trustees of such College shall 
faithfully apply all funds collected or received and the pro- 
ceeds thereof belonging to the institution, according to their 
best judgment, in purchasing lands and erecting buildings, 
supporting necessary officers, instructors, and servants, and 
procuring all equipment, educational and otherwise, neces- 
sary to carry on the work of the College. 

Sec. 3, That said University may enter into affiliated 
agreements with any institutions of learning outside of the 
District of Columbia, for the purpose of giving to students of 
such institutions the educational facilities of said University 



CHARTER OE THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 26 

and the Departments of the Government in the City of Wash- 
ington which are by law open to students, upon such terms 
as are mutually agreed upon by the said University and the 
affiliated institutions. 

Approved, March 3, 1905. 

(United States Statutes at Large, vol. 33, part 1, pp. 
1036, 1037; 58th Cong., 3rd Sess., ch. 1467.) 



[5313] 



L'BRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 892 093 1 



